Banks, insurers rethink app strategy to solve real user problems

OCBC, Astra Life, BTN, and ACA prioritise utility and relevance over super app ambitions. Banks and insurers in Southeast Asia are go...

OCBC, Astra Life, BTN, and ACA prioritise utility and relevance over super app ambitions.

Banks and insurers in Southeast Asia are going back to basics by designing apps that focus on what customers really need—fast claims, secure systems, and helpful tools—instead of trying to become super apps.

At the Asian Banking & Finance-Insurance Asia Summit 2025 in Jakarta in June, executives from PT Bank OCBC NISP Tbk (OCBC Indonesia), Astra Life, Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN), and PT Asuransi Central Asia (ACA) noted how their app development priorities are shifting from feature overload to functional relevance.

“We’re not trying to outbuild our competitors,” Windy Riswantyo, group head at Astra Life, told the summit. “We build to serve our customers.”

Their My Astra Life app, launched in 2021, puts claims at the centre of the user experience. Features like e-claims, e-cards help users manage health, investment, and pension benefits in one place.

“The highest usage comes from claim-related services. That’s where the value lies,” she pointed out.

At ACA, digital channels account for only about 1% of revenue, Chief Financial Officer Indrawati Darmawan told the summit. But that hasn’t stopped the Indonesian insurer from investing in mobile tools that let users view policies and process claims more easily.

“We’re building for Gen Z,” she said. “Even if they’re not buying today, we don’t want to start from zero when they are [ready].”

BTN is taking a different approach—embedding itself in customers’ daily routines. “We want to be part of users’ routines from early on,” said Tresia Sarumpaet, head of digital retail at BTN.

To do this, the lender’s app offers more than just banking. It includes QRIS cross-border payments, airline and train bookings, home repair services, and even access to therapists.

“It’s more than banking. It’s a daily hub,” Sarumpaet said.

At OCBC Indonesia, the focus is on building a strong back-end foundation to support secure and personalised experiences.

“Don’t jump straight to artificial intelligence (AI),” said Phillip Thomas, head of analytics and decision-making at the bank. “You have to first build the foundation—structure the data, clean it, analyse it. Only then can AI create value.”

OCBC spends 80% of its app development time on infrastructure, including fraud detection and anti-money laundering systems. “Security isn’t a feature—it’s hygiene,” he added.

The bank’s Life Goals tool helps users map out financial objectives and receive personalised product recommendations, while behavioural data quietly powers tailored nudges in the background. “It’s not about selling products. It’s about enabling better decisions,” Phillip said.

Still, all four financial institutions agree that not every service needs to be in an app. Astra Life once considered building a pension claim function, but dropped the idea after realising that older users might only install it once.

“Just because something can be built doesn’t mean it should [be built],” Riswantyo said.

This shift reflects a more mature digital mindset. “We’ve seen companies spend recklessly trying to buy relevance,” Phillip noted. “But relevance comes from reliability. If your app works every time and meets real needs, customers will stay.”

For ACA, the goal is long-term. “We’re not here to monetise app downloads,” Indrawati said. “We’re investing to ensure we stay relevant when digital-first users take over.”

Ultimately, success in the crowded app market no longer depends on having the flashiest features—it depends on becoming indispensable.

“You don’t make money with a nice UI (user interface),” Phillip said. “You make money by understanding your customers. Everything else is just packaging.”